1.Explain why the risk premium of a stock does not depend on its diversifiable risk.
2.Identify each of the following risks as most likely to be systematic risk or diversifiable risk:
a. The risk that your main production plant is shut down due to a tornado.
b. The risk that the economy slows, decreasing demand for your firm’s products.
c. The risk that your best employees will be hired away.
d. The risk that the new product you expect your R&D division to produce will not materialize.
3.Suppose the risk-free interest rate is 5%, and the stock market will return either 40% or −20% each year, with each outcome equally likely. Compare the following two investment strategies: (1) invest for one year in the risk-free investment, and one year in the market, or (2) invest for both years in the market.
a. Which strategy has the highest expected final payoff?
b. Which strategy has the highest standard deviation for the final payoff?
c. Does holding stocks for a longer period decrease your risk?
4.Download the spreadsheet from MyFinanceLab containing the realized return of the S&P 500 from 1929–2008. Starting in 1929, divide the sample into four periods of 20 years each. For each 20-year period, calculate the final amount an investor would have earned given a $1000 initial investment. Also express your answer as an annualized return. If risk were eliminated by holding stocks for 20 years, what would you expect to find? What can you conclude about long-run diversification?